5/16/2017 basketball Edit

C.J. Bryce impressed with NC State

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

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Former North Carolina Wilmington wing C.J. Bryce officially visited NC State this past weekend. (USA Today Sports)

C.J. Bryce knew the coaches at NC State, but used his official visit this past weekend to learn more about the school and facilities.

Bryce played for new NC State coach Kevin Keatts at UNC Wilmington. Assistant coach Takayo Siddle, director of operations Thomas Carr, and strength and conditioning coach Pat Murphy are some of the other familiar faces from his days with the Seahawks that are now residing in Raleigh.

The 6-foot-5, 185-pound Bryce, who would have to sit out one year and then have two years of eligibility remaining, hadn’t spent that much time in the past at NC State. He remembers seeing PNC Arena for a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game, but that’s about it. He was joined on his official visit by his parents, aunt and sister. They arrived Saturday morning and left Sunday morning.

“I loved it, and they showed me a lot of love,” said Bryce, who wants to major in communications and minor in business. “I really liked the school, and everything was nice. I had never been to Raleigh like that or hung out there. I really like it up there.”

Bryce is well aware that there is a perception that he will pick NC State at some point. In the mean time, he officially visited South Carolina Wednesday and Thursday.

“I feel like that could be true,” said Bryce on how his close relationship with Keatts could be scaring colleges way. “That might be 50 percent true. I also might have started too late on the transferring process. I honestly don’t know.

“This is how I wanted to do the process. If I wanted to, I could have just committed to NC State after I got my release. I didn’t want to look back and regret it.”

Most recruits want to know about roles and schemes, but Bryce already knew that prior to the official visit. Keatts still went over certain aspects, but the visit didn’t need to be basketball heavy. Bryce hopes to use his redshirt year to improve his body and every aspect of his game. The chance to work on his master’s degree down the road also is part of his plans.

“They showed me the school, where they would have me playing and things like that,” Bryce said. “They obviously showed how much they needed me. With me sitting out a year, the big emphasis was on how I could grow and build my game during my sit-out year.”

Bryce had great success in helping lead UNCW to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. He saw Keatts transform that program in a three-year span.

“It’s obvious that Coach Keatts is a heck of a coach,” Bryce said. “I am really am curious to see if it will be as easy a transition at NC State as it was for us at Wilmington. He came in there and turned it around in one or two years. I guess it all depends on recruiting. I have the confidence in him.”

Bryce’s game also took off during the fun ride. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists his sophomore year. Bryce also added to the range on his jumper, improving from 13 three-pointers made his freshman year to 42 (33.1 percent) last season.

The former Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg High standout was named first-team All-Colonial Athletic Conference his sophomore year and selected the MVP of the conference tournament. The Seahawks went 29-6 and fell to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Leaving UNC Wilmington proved to be a difficult decision, but he felt he could grow as a player with the move.

“Playing in a league like the ACC is a factor because I’ll be playing on that stage every night,” Bryce said. “I’d be playing against the toughest competition. I have enough confidence in my game where I feel like that is the stage where I should be on."

Bryce has NBA aspirations, and that will definitely play a role in what college he ends up picking. He has heard from NC State, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.), Georgetown, Wake Forest, Maryland, Florida and Gonzaga, among others.

“I want to play on a higher stage and be seen, and this is the best path to get to the next level,” Bryce said. “I felt I could still do that at Wilmington also, but I wanted to be in the best position.”

Bryce got a taste of ACC competition the last two years. UNC Wilmington fell to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament his freshman year, and lost to Clemson in the 2016-17 regular season and then to Virginia in the NCAA Tourney this past March.

“I felt like we could have competed with anybody at UNC Wilmington,” Bryce said. “Size was a big factor with that. With Keatts’ style, I felt like we could defeat anybody.

“I played OK against Duke and Clemson, but Virginia was the first team that I didn’t play well against.”

NC State has a few players from Charlotte that Bryce played against in high school, and he also played with rising junior small forward Shaun Kirk on Team United traveling team. Redshirt junior wing Torin Dorn attended Charlotte Vance, and fifth-year senior guard Al Freeman, a graduate transfer from Baylor, went to Charlotte Olympic for two years. Bryce is also familiar with incoming freshman point guard Lavar Batts of Concord (N.C.) Robinson.

Bryce started his prep career at Charlotte Hopewell High and then transferred to North Meck.

“I’m not all that new to the transferring process," he said. "I can take all the negativity that goes with it.”